Kenyans Shun Upcountry As Economy Bites
As Christmas approaches within a few days, a reduced number of Kenyans residing in urban areas are opting out of traveling to rural areas due to challenging economic conditions.
In an interview with PoliticalPulseChat, Dickson Mbugua, who serves as the chairman of the Matatu Welfare Association (MWA) and holds the position of Secretary at the Federation of Public Transport Sector (FPTS), clarified that around 60 percent of the usual travel volume was observed at key bus terminals within the Central Business District (CBD).
He credited the decrease to the elevated expenses resulting from the increased fuel prices. Moreover, he disregarded the recent fuel price adjustment by the Energy and Petroleum Authority (EPRA), which lowered petrol, kerosene, and diesel prices by Ksh5, Ksh4, and Ksh2 respectively.
Referring to this, he clarified that the decrease is unimportant because the prices remain higher than the Ksh200 threshold.
“If you increase it consecutively and then decrease it by a small margin, it makes no difference,” he remarked.
“Likewise, the number of people traveling is not a big rush as opposed to other years. It’s 60 percent of the normal rush that is being experienced now.”
To handle the challenging circumstances, Mbugua highlighted that matatu cooperatives frequently obtain a Short Term Road Service License (RSL) to secure authorization for long-distance travel.
“There are a number of them (matatus acquiring RSL) though not as many as before. They pertain mostly to the Western regions as well as North Rift regions,” he pointed out.
The head of the Welfare Association mentioned that the prices for long-haul bus journeys had surged by an approximate amount of Ksh500 on average.
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“Of course, the fare has gone up. The current drop in prices is insignificant. It has little effect on the consumption. If one used to pay Ksh1,500, currently it’s around Ksh2,000. You have to account it’s one-way traffic as there are no return trips,” he noted.
However, his comments were countered by several Saccos who informed PoliticalPulseChat that they encountered extended lines starting in early December as travelers sought to make bookings for their journeys.
Mary Ojwang’, who works as a sales representative at Easy Coach, mentioned that reservations commenced as far back as November, as Kenyans were eagerly looking forward to the holiday season.
“There has been an increase on our end. We are fully booked. To me, there is no change,” she detailed.
“Most of our customers began booking since last month, so if you plan to travel right now, it’s going to be particularly difficult.”
The main reputation of Easy Coach lies in providing transportation for extensive distances covering areas such as Nyanza, Western, North Rift, South Rift, and Kampala regions.
A spokesperson from Guardian Coach Bus also mentioned a rise in reservations during December.
“People are still booking, I can say there’s an increase. They began booking in November,” the representative stated.
Kenyans Shun Upcountry As Economy Bites
